Not Looking For Little Red Riding Hood

[Legione Sumus]

Peter was walking to his car when something changed. He froze, his chest suddenly in incredible pain. He fell to his knees, finding himself unable to stand. He couldn’t be having a heart attack. He took care of himself - saw the doctors frequently to make sure he was in good health. He exercised. His doctor said his heart was still strong.

But the pain was there. A hand went to his chest, gripping and hoping for relief. But it was in vain he tell, the rest of the way to the ground, flipping over on his back to stare at the sky. He was aware that there were people nearby coming - maybe to see if he was okay. He didn’t know. It didn’t matter. He knew this was the end, and as he knew it, he only regretted that he hadn’t gotten to Elyse on time. That there was a chance she would escape. With that, he held on as long as he could before eventually succumbing.

[Elyse]

Elyse could hear Nox gently speaking to Lily over comms. She heard nothing else. No news was good news as they said. Still she found herself getting anxious about the whole situation. It was something she had never felt before on mission, but then again, no mission had ever been this personal before. Her leg began to bounce up and down nervously.

”Im sure you could come in during a rehearsal. You won’t get to see us in costume though - but we haven’t gotten that far yet either.”

She took a sip of her macchiato and took another bite of her danish, offering Hayden a piece if he so desired one. Talking about Anna made Elyse think of her and she pulled out her wallet to send her a message. ”Excuse me a moment,” she said to Hayden.

Anna - want to see you tonight. Can I come to your place?

Anna responded quickly. Elyse had been on her radar and she called every day since she found out Elyse had been considering self harm. Of course! Everything okay?

Don’t know. But I will soon enough. I’ll explain when I can. I’m safe and not alone. Might be at my place instead. Depends on things.

Whatever you need. Here for you always. Keep me posted

In Anna terms that meant check in or I’ll bang down your door later. It made Elyse smile a bit. She put down the wallet and turned back to Hayden. ”Sorry about that. So the bar is almost ready? You’ll have to invite me to the grand opening. Can I throw out the first drunk?” her leg was still bouncing under the table.

[Nox]

Nox watched as he bounded Lily past Peter Andersen's body. The crowd around the Bacarrat grew around him, a man tried CPR but it was fruitless. Nox dialed emergency using a burner phone and a voice changer "A man is having a heart attack in front of the Baccarat Mansion." Nox didn't stay but he dropped the phone in the nearest bin so it would stay on and provide the place for them to come. It would 'self destruct' as Sage put it in fifteen minutes. It wouldn't blow up he'd asked about it. The software would wipe everything leaving no trace.

Nox felt the man die and walked on letting the power go and made his way to the tunnels a few blocks down. He avoided the cameras as he could. "The coast is clear. There is no more danger. I'll be home later." He didn't know when he'd be home. The horde was itching but he had Lily. This was not a situation he was familiar with.

[Hayden]

Hayden didn't mind that Elyse made a text. But she was nervous. When she came back her leg kept bouncing. He put his hand on her knee. "I might have to do that. Costumes might do it for some, but it's the flexibility and sexy moves that do it for me." Hayden teased.

"How's Anna?" he grinned.

Nox's voice came over the comms. All clear. Peter Andersen was dead. Hayden would find out soon enough how he died. Hayde expected heart attack in public. Not a murder. And the Atharim wouldn't likely do an autopsy. Hunters died all the time, but who knew what they'd find. It wasn't his mess to clean up this time. He had a hacker for that.

[Elyse]

Elyse wondered if he ever had watched Anna perform. If flexibility and sexy moves was his thing then he was in for a treat with her. She felt his hand on her kne, a subtle cue to calm down. Asking about Anna, Elyse assumed that is who he had texted, but before she could answer, Nox confirmed that it was done.

It was done. The thought hit her hard. Elyse’s breathing hitched and the nervous energy morphed into something else. Tears began to fall, and Elyse’s hand sought out Hayden’s as she stared straight ahead. She pulled the earpiece out and dropped it on the table. She didn’t need to hear more, even though she knew Nox wouldn’t report anymore.

She wiped her eyes and didn’t speak, unsure if the emotional outbreak was sadness for her father’s death or relief that the situation was over. She never wanted any of this. She hadn’t deserved any of it. It never should have come to this. Elyse came out of trance and was back with Hayden. She looked at him and just said two words. ”Let’s go.”

[Hayden]

The words sank in and Elyse lost herself to the words. When she was ready he helped her to feet and put her coat on and out the door. They didn't go through the tunnels, there was no need. There wasn't even a need to be stealthy. So he felt that calling a cab was not a worry.

He was able to get a car quickly and get Elsye in. He gave him the address to Nox's place. "You okay?" Hayden asked.

[Elyse]

Elyse followed as Hayden led her out. She didn’t speak anymore, trying to figure out how she felt. Part of her felt sad, part of her felt relieved, and part of her felt angry. She mourned the loss of her parents when she didn’t think they had deserved it. At the same time she was glad they were gone because they had abandoned her when she had needed them the most. She couldn’t really focus on anything. It was all too confusing.

Hayden got them a cab, and she realized they never picked up her equipment. She could find it later anyways. Hayden took care of telling the driver where to go and then asked if she was okay. Elyse didn’t answer right away simply because she didn’t know. It was something she had noticed about the depression. She didn’t always feel sad. Sometimes she felt so much that she couldn’t describe it, but the fact that she didn’t know if she was okay or not told her she wasn’t.

Still she didn’t answer, just rested her head on Hayden’s shoulder and shook her head no. She wrapped her arms around him in a hug. Tears didn’t fall and she didn’t cry. She just felt incredibly empty and drained. She sat there as the driver went through the city and she tried. She tried to find a way to verbalize what was going on, but in the end she just said. ”I don’t know how I should feel about this,”

[Hayden]

Hayden held Elyse. "It's okay not to know. Parent death is hard to begin with. Knowing what you know doesn't make it any easier. But the Atharim will no longer hunt you. The Wicked Truth will handle the rest. You are free of them."

It was hardly a comfort he knew that, but being safe was good. "And now that it's all over you don't need to stay cooped up in Nox's protections. I don't suggest you move out on your own just yet, but your life is once again yours." It was a silver lining to the horrid things that had happened.

"And maybe after a hot shower and some food you'll be able to process it. If not, you'll process it when you can. I'll be here if you need it. And so will the rest of your new family."

The cab pulled up in front of Nox's building and Hayden helped Elyse out. "You want me to stay awhile?"

[Elyse]

What Hayden was saying she knew, but it helped a little to hear it all. She could be herself. Her records in the Atharim would be gone. She would be free. Right now, everything still hurt. She now had time to figure things out, and at this point didn’t plan on leaving unless Nox kicked her out.

They arrived back at the building and Hayden asked if she wanted him to stay. She did. The kids would probably be at Kallisti. That was a kind of blessing. They didn’t have to see her like this. Elyse didn’t want to be alone either. She hoped Hayden wouldn’t mind. She was sure he had better things to do than take care of her.

”Please,” she said, a slight tremor in her voice betraying that she thought he might refuse even though he had offered. ”I probably won’t be a lot of fun to be around though.”

She took him upstairs to her room. It was her space and the decor reflected that. She had taken his advice, and the building was starting to look more like a home, but this space was truly hers. Marta’s gift to her was on her table. A wolf painting decorated a wall. Her curtains were yellow. It wasn’t much, but it was hers, and right now she felt safest in this room.

A couple pieces of paper lay on her bed by the pillow and Elyse picked them up to find one of Marta’s drawings. It shows her and Marta with Splash looking from below. All three were smiling. The second was a note in Marta’s hand.

Elyse,

I’m sorry you’re sad. If I could do anything to make the sadness go away I would. I hope this drawing makes you smile a little. I don’t remember my mom anymore, but I like to think she was a lot like you. I love you so much.

Love,

Marta

PS - I have to tell you about the Dream sometime.

Elyse sat down on her bed, and began to cry unable to believe how lucky she was that Marta had become part of her life. She had so many reasons to be filled with hate, but she wasn’t. It was then Elyse knew she would be fine. Even if it took a bit.

She turned to Hayden, wiping the tears away. ”You can take that shower now if you’d like. I can go after. Then maybe some lunch after?” she didn’t want to talk about what happened yet, but she had to say something before things went farther. ”I need you to make me a promise. The same one Nox made to me when I agreed to this. If he tells you how he did it, you never tell me - even if I ask. Please promise that. That goes for you too, Wicked! she said, assuming he was listening.

[Hayden]

Hayden followed Elyse through the building. The door was seemingly unlocked though he knew that Sky had unlocked the door when they stepped in. Hayden was pretty sure keys didn't exist in Nox's little world. He relied on his hacker friend and now the AI that ran his house. At least the machine was no longer making itself known. Though Hayden imagined now that Nox was back there would be much more evidence that it was around.

As he walked through the house he noticed the slight disaster areas, the crooked pillows. The pile of toys in the corner was probably driving Nox insane. But he had other people to tend to as he followed Elyse up the stairs to her room. She offered him a shower and he shook his head. "I have this thing... about putting dirty clothes on a clean body, while these clothes are not filthy or smelly they've been worn and don't exactly fit the bill. I'm good. But you go take a shower."

He agreed to her words with a nod. He probably didn't want to know how Nox killed the man either, though he suspected it was like all the others that didn't have a building come down on their heads. He had his own MO. And he preferred the heart attack method to the building method. And he preferred no one knowing it wasn't natural until the autopsy. Though Hayden knew without a doubt there was a cruel and horrible bent to Nox's style and if he hadn't taken Lily with him, it might have come out. His darkness was deep and buried and he fought it every moment of every day. Hayden couldn't imagine the fight and the torment he felt. As much as he couldn't really understand what Elyse was going through. To be the last of your line. To be without your parents. To knowing you had something to do with their deaths. But it wasn't her fault. It was their choices that had lead to their deaths.

Hayden hoped Elyse didn't come to resent Nox for what he did. For his part in the whole thing. She was staying in his house.

He sat down with his wallet and ordered a toy box for the toys down stairs. He rushed it so that hopefully it would be here before Nox returned, or at least shortly after. He didn't live out of bags just because that was how he always had. It was order in his otherwise chaotic life.

"I know you have things in storage, maybe you should get more of it out, and stay a while. Didn't you say you wanted to find something more permanent. I'm sure Nox won't mind, he'd probably welcome it. And if you aren't feeling like being a charity case, offer to pay the utilities. As I understand it Sage bought the place out right and there are no bill short of the everyday things. Nox will never ask. I know the three elder Blackthorns, though none of them are actually Blackthorns, intend to help with the bills as soon as they get paying jobs."